Republican analysts said the landscape is interesting, but not entirely surprising, considering how few conservatives aspire to serve decades in public office. “This is not something that conservatives do for life, generally,” said veteran GOP pollster Glen Bolger. “Over the years, a lot of conservatives have left to do other things. They’re not in public service quite as deeply as liberals; it’s part of [liberals’] genetic DNA.”

So, how does that affect public policy? “Well, is government getting smaller or bigger? It’s getting bigger. And there’s a correlation,” Bolger said. “It’s easier for liberals to not only win the battle, but over time, to win the war.”

A new NPR poll shows that Democrats are still in relatively strong position nationally — but Republicans have tied them in a question about generic preference for Congressional candidates, a potential trouble sign for a party riding a wave.

The poll was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies/Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research from March 10-14. It consisted of a telephone survey of 800 likely voters nationwide. The survey carries a margin of error of +/-3.5 percentage points.

None of this is very surprising. We recently elected Obama by a margin in this range, and thereafter his popularity surged, as it would for any new president who presented himself well following his election. The public isn’t likely to repudiate that president’s policies less than two months after he takes office.

The most interesting result, I thought, is that self-identified conservatives outnumbered self-identified liberals by a margin of 45-19 (35 percent identified themselves as moderates). Obviously, there is a disconnect between this result and the answers to substantive questions about the stimulus plan, the budget, etc (though it should be noted that the pollsters stated the Democratic position in moderate sounding terms).

Right track/wrong track numbers have improved since last year (63 percent wrong track now versus 80 percent in May 2008) and are about where they were in March 2006, the last time the question was asked before Democrats won control of Congress in the November 2006 election (64 percent in March 2006).

Like several other national polls, the NPR survey shows the president’s approval at 59 percent.

Congressional approval has climbed back to 2007 levels (36 percent approve), an improvement over the lows of 2008 (22 percent).

Bipartisan polling is not new — a number of firms have teamed up on their own in similar ventures, and other media companies have hired such pairings.

But in this exercise, each of the firms wrote “their strongest messages in each area” and tested public reaction. On health care and energy matters, people sided with the Democratic message by a margin of 53 to 42 percent, the pollsters report.

“As Democrats hold the advantage on key issues, President Obama’s approval rating remains strong,,’ they report, with an approval rating for Obama similar to the one reported this week by the Pew Research Center. “Nearly six-in-ten voters (59 percent) approve of the job President Obama is doing while just 35 percent disapprove.”

A new poll conducted for National Public Radio shows that the “generic ballot” now shows no partisan advantage, with voters equally likely to say they’d support a candidate of either party.

President Obama remains popular with voters with a 58 percent approval rating. But it’s clear that the worsening economy and the congressional infighting over a stimulus package has taken a toll on the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill.

I know this is just one poll, but my question is whether it signals that there is an opening for Oregon Republicans in the congressional races next year.

In response to some of these attacks, camera vendor American Traffic Solutions (ATS) recently commissioned a poll of Missouri voters. In a press release issued today, pollster Neil Newhouse says 66 percent of Missourians favor the cameras as opposed to just 30 percent who oppose the devices.

Even more surprising — according to Newhouse — is the misconception that most Missourians disapprove of the cameras.

He says his study found that by a margin of 47 percent to 31 percent, most voters incorrectly assume that their neighbors oppose the cameras.

Public Opinion Strategies helped us to clarify what we wanted to learn and then conducted research and analysis that shed light even beyond the questions we set out to ask. They were very receptive to our suggestions, responsive to our queries, and flexible when we needed them to be.

Public Opinion Strategies has consistently offered unparalleled advice and spot-on polling that has shaped how and where we spent money and deploy key resources. Additionally, they have always been an excellent steward of limited campaign resources, ensuring we spend wisely and not a dollar more than necessary in order to get the information we need.

Robert Blizzard and Public Opinion Strategies did a great job for us throughout our successful campaign for Congress. Robert gave us accurate data, spot on analysis, and professional advice, all of which were essential to our victory.

Public Opinion Strategies is one of our go-to pollsters when it comes to testing public support for bond ballot measures and other initiative proposals. They are available to provide ongoing consultation with regard to crafting of ballot questions, public outreach messaging, and related efforts.

ACLI has worked with Public Opinion Strategies for decades, through several tough industry battles—often ones in which public opinion does not naturally fall on the side of insurers. Yet Bill and his team consistently provide invaluable strategic advice by refining our messages and helping us frame our issues in a way that makes them understandable and persuasive.

The data from Public Opinion Strategies provided important insight and informed our public awareness campaign. We sincerely appreciate their professionalism and expertise in this arena.

Nicole McCleskey and the team at Public Opinion Strategies have been invaluable to me, both during my campaigns and as Governor of the State of New Mexico. It’s not just the accuracy of their numbers, but guiding the overall strategy that makes them so valuable.

Public Opinion Strategies has been a part of our team in Missouri for more than a decade. With their data and guidance, Republicans here were able to attain a majority in the House in 2002 for the first time in fifty years, and we have been able to grow that majority to the point that we now have a record, veto-proof majority.

In my tenure at two leading business associations, facing huge and complex consumer issues, I have benefitted enormously from the objective advisory skills of Bill and his team. They do their homework, they are rigorous, dispassionate and thoughtful. Turning questions into answers is a clever tag, but it’s also an apt description of the professional talents of the firm.

I consider Public Opinion Strategies to be a part of our team. That is the way we have always worked. They have helped us to understand our needs and fashioned research solutions to meet those needs. They have helped us to meet killer deadlines by being flexible, executing rapidly, and insuring quality. Teamwork is the best way to describe it.

Accuracy, speed, and deep knowledge of key issues and public sentiment are the hallmarks of quality opinion research, and on these measures Public Opinion Strategies consistently delivers. I have had the pleasure of working with Public Opinion Strategies for more than 15 years on dozens of issues, and they are undoubtedly the gold standard.

Public Opinion Strategies’ track record of success and wealth of experience in political campaigns and issue advocacy are why they are one of the most trusted and well respected public opinion firms in Washington, D.C. Their insights and perspectives have helped to inform a wide array of public affairs activities across multiple industries.